A man suffered a gunshot wound to his leg in a shooting Thursday in a residential neighborhood, police said.

Few details were available regarding the 11:33 a.m. shooting in the 1400 block of El Sereno Avenue as the victim was not cooperating with investigators, Pasadena police Lt. Rick Aversano said.

Police responded to a report of a shooting when they discovered a man in his 20s suffering from a gunshot wound to one of his legs, the lieutenant said.

The man would not give police an account of what took place or a description of his attacker, officials said.

The man was taken to a hospital. Police said his injuries were not life-threatening.

LOS ANGELES

Court hearing set for Rowland Heights doctor

A Rowland Heights doctor charged with murder after patients in her care overdosed on prescription painkillers will be in court today for a preliminary hearing, officials said.

Dr. Hsiuying “Lisa” Tseng has been in custody in lieu of $3 million bail since her March 1 arrest on suspicion of the murders of three patients in her care: Vu Nguyen, 29, of Lake Forest, who died on March 2, 2009; Steven Ogle, 25, of Palm Desert, who died on April 9, 2009; and Joseph Rovero III, 21, of San Ramon, who died on Dec. 18, 2009.

She is accused of prescribing large amounts of powerful painkillers to the men without a medical need, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney’s officials.

She was expected to appear in Los Angeles Superior Court Friday morning for her preliminary hearing on the murder charges, as well as 20 other charges related to prescribing drugs by fraud, officials said.

She has already been found civilly liable in connection with the painkiller overdose deaths of five other young men she was treating in a lawsuit.

If convicted as charged, Tseng faces up to 45 years to life in prison.

BELLFLOWER

Man accused of pilfering pet iguana in break-in

Deputies Thursday jailed a Downey man on suspicion of burglary and other crimes and reunited a Bellflower auto shop owner with his pet iguana, which was stolen late last year.

“Lizard” the iguana, which the auto shop owner had kept as a pet for more than 17 years, went missing following a break-in late Dec. 9 or early Dec. 10, at the auto shop in the 9800 block of Park Street, according to Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials.

Other than the reptile, nothing else appeared to have been stolen from the shop, Lt. Steve Sciacca said in a written statement.

Evidence gathered at the scene of the burglary led detectives to identify 19-year-old Jesus Alcaraz of Downey as a suspect, Sciacca said. Gang investigators from the sheriff’s Lakewood Station recognized Alcaraz from previous encounters.

“Investigators served a search warrant on Alcaraz’s residence in Downey and recovered the victim’s pet iguana, a loaded handgun that was illegally possessed by Alcaraz, marijuana, hashish oil, and gang paraphernalia,” Sciacca said. The iguana was returned to its owner.

According to county booking records, Alcaraz was being held in lieu of $35,000 bail pending a scheduled arraignment Monday in Downey Superior Court.

Los Angeles County firefighters received a call at 11:23 a.m. about “a snake bite” in the 1100 block of Glendora Mountain Road. The incident happened near the U.S. Forest station.

County Fire Inspector Quvondo Johnson said one person was taken to a hospital. Glendora police Lt. Jamie Caldwell said the victim, a inmate fire camp worker with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, was bitten several times in the hand by a rattler.

An officer accompanied firefighters and the inmate to Foothill Presbyterian Hospital until a supervisor with the CDCR arrived, according to Caldwell.

He said the inmate was treated at the hospital and would be kept overnight.

It wasn’t clear how many other inmates were working in the forest on Thursday. U.S Forest Service officials didn’t return phone calls.

INDUSTRY

Freeway crash injures one, shuts down 4 lanes

A collision involving a big rig and two cars left one person injured and closed four lanes of the southbound 605 freeway for nearly two hours Wednesday night.

The crash happened shortly after 11 p.m. on the southbound 605 Freeway just north of Peck Road.

California Highway Patrol Officer Partrick Kimball said an occupant of one of the cars sustained moderate injuries and was hospitalized.

According to the CHP, the semi went through the center divider and into the northbound lanes. A chunk of concrete measuring about three to four feet was reportedly knocked out of the center divider.

Kimball said a SigAlert was issued at 11:15 p.m. It was cancelled at 12:57 a.m.

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